Finding of No Significant Impact for Proposed 1,188-acre Whiteman AFB Land Acquisition< Back to projects

Client: U.S. Air ForceLocation: Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB), Missouri

POWER’s team led coordination with local, state, and federal agencies for an Environmental Assessment (EA) and associated Phase I and Phase II Environmental Baseline Studies (EBS) for Whiteman AFB.

The EA analyzed the potential environmental consequences of a proposed acquisition of approximately 1,188 acres, in 24 separate parcels under 16 private ownerships, located at both the north and south ends of an existing airfield. The Proposed Action allowed the Air Force to maintain adequate safety zones associated with the airfield runways by expanding installation boundaries to fully include the clear zone and all accident potential zones.

The focus of the EA was on the effects to the ecological resources (primarily soils, vegetation, wetlands, streams, and special-status species), cultural resources (both archaeological and history/architecture), safety, socioeconomic and environmental justice resources, and hazardous materials and hazardous waste. The Phase I EBS evaluated the history of use, storage, or disposal of hazardous substances or petroleum products on the property to be acquired and classified the parcels into Property Category Codes. The Phase II EBS investigated the nature and extent of contamination at one parcel considered for acquisition.

The analyses of these environmental elements resulted in a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The project was completed on an expedited schedule, and the FONSI was signed three months early.